


Security

by KakuLysiko



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Implied abuse, Original Characters - Freeform, Security Guard, Slice of Life, WE'RE ON THIS RIDE TOGETHER, actually everyone is, arndi is nonbinary btw, bare with me until then!!, i guess, i'll make sure to tag any chapters with triggering stuff tho dont worry, i'll update tags later if i think of more, idk what im doing tbh, jyphaskelo (world), shit starts to get real around chapter 7 or so, skelepuppet, skeleton puppet, uhhh, zaii is an awkward potato, zaii smokes btw but it's legit for a good reason
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-09-02 01:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8645620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KakuLysiko/pseuds/KakuLysiko
Summary: Sayra has a nice, though admittedly boring, job as a night time security guard for a small office. Nothing much happens, either at work or at home, and she's fallen into a pretty average routine. However the normalcy and repetition her life has settled into is about to be flipped around when she gets a new co-worker who isn't quite human- A normal thing in Jyphaskelo, if it weren't for the fact he's something called a "skeleton puppet".After he joins the team her life suddenly isn't so routine, but to be honest she's not going to complain. Normal is boring, and Sayra is excited to see how this short skelepuppet named Zaii changes things. She just hopes the changes are good...





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> you ready for a crazy ride????
> 
> cause im not oh stars i dont know what im doing LOL
> 
> gonna try and post once a week but i can promise NOTHING ok im sorry in advance!! 
> 
> find me elsewhere!  
> kakusart.tumblr.com  
> deidaraart5.deviantart.com

"Hey have you heard?" The voice of her coworker startled Sayra out of her focus on the many monitors stacked in front of her. She gave them a questioning glance, though didn't have a chance to actually _say_ anything before her coworker started speaking again. "We're getting a new member to the security team! His name is Zaii, apparently. Who names their kid 'fruit'?" They rambled a bit, holding back a laugh at the meaning of Zaii's name. 

"Zaii also means berry." Sayra pointed out with a slight shrug. "It's fine for a name. I mean, I've heard weirder." She added, not appreciating her coworker's teasing of the new member's name before even _meeting_ him. His name's meaning wasn't important- what _was,_ was if he was gonna be easy to work with and good at his job.

"Yeah I suppose. Either way, his shift starts in like twenty minutes so we'll get to meet him soon." They shrugged at her response, earning another glance from her. "I wonder what he's gonna look like. I heard he wasn't really human-looking, but that's super vague. Got any guesses on species?" Their pestering was starting to irritate her.

What did it _matter_?!

"Look I get you're excited but seriously, you're being kinda a jerk about him and he hasn't even arrived yet." She snorted, shooting them a glare which earned her a sheepish smile in return.

Sayra knew they meant no real harm; they just didn't have any sort of filter between their thoughts and their mouth. But she also knew that she needed to nip their thoughts in the bud before this Zaii guy actually _did_ show up. He wouldn't know about their bluntness after all, and might get offended by them. That'd be a pretty crummy start to a new job.

Finally her coworker decided to get back to doing their job, flopping down into a nearby chair and leaving Sayra to focus on the monitors in silence. It wasn't the most fun job, watching monitors all night, but it paid well and there was never any trouble to worry about. Her shifts where she made rounds through the building were slightly more entertaining, but not by much.

Before long the door to the monitor room opened up, the head of security holding the door open as someone else walked in casually, the two of them speaking quietly to each other. She didn't look up immediately, her mind not processing the intrusion right off. When she did realize there was now two extra bodies in the cramped room she looked over with a start, mouth opening to apologize.

Her voice stuck in her throat for just a second, before she cleared it and smiled genuinely. "Hey! You must be Zaii?"

Near her stood a, well, a skeleton-looking guy. He was on the shorter end, standing maybe 5'4", and he seemed to be stockier than one would expect a skeleton to be. However his face, and hands, led her to wonder if he was _actually_ a skeleton. His hands were too solid for that, though the fingers were segmented like bones, and two lines ran horizontally along the solid palm, from fingers to wrist. Finger tips were a coral red, whereas the rest of his fingers were a forest green. His palms were the same light gray with a tint of washed out yellow as the rest of his bones however.

It was his face that was really grabbing her, though. His eyes were lidded heavily, the entire socket visible as if they closed like a doll's. His left socket had a crack that traveled up and over the top of his skull, branching into two an inch or so after leaving the socket. Three more sets of cracks, two of which crossed over each other, traveled down to his jaw. His grin stretched over his face, teeth all daggers.

Instead of having a skeleton jaw, however, his mandible and cheeks seemed fused into one smooth piece. It gave him a rounded face, which helped lessen the intimidation of his teeth. The fact his nasal socket was in the rough shape of a heart also helped him look a lot more approachable.

The thick rings that made up his irises flicked to her when she spoke, the same color as his fingertips. They were kinda like disks, seemingly suspended by an invisible force. The one in his cracked socket was substantially dimmer, however, almost unnoticeable in the inky darkness. His expression was unreadable, still holding a sleepy looking grin as Sayra stood and held out her hand to him.

"S'ppose I am." He replied simply as he took her hand in his, his voice surprisingly deep. It had a husky quality to it, like that of a smoker. She couldn't help but notice that his mouth didn't move when he spoke, and found herself curious. "S' a bit weird that I don’t know your name, 'n, uh, you know mine. Since, uh, we haven't been intr'duced yet." He added as he released her hand.

"Well, duh, yeah, that's a bit weird. Sorry. I'm Sayra. It's nice to meet you." Sayra replied instantly, not looking embarrassed as she grinned at him. He wasn't sure what to make of that, so he didn't respond.

By then Sayra's coworker had worked up the nerve to speak up, a bit shy around new people despite their blunt nature. They introduced themselves as Arndi and shook his hand, though lingered in their hold a bit longer than comfortable.

Sayra knew instantly by the look in their eyes that they were going to start bombarding Zaii with questions. She shot them a warning glance, which they ignored blatantly.

"So! You're a skeleton? Man I didn't even know living skeletons were a _thing_! That's so cool, but kinda creepy too. I mean- A _skeleton_! How do you even wear normal clothes? You look bigger than I thought a skeleton would." Arndi rambled, causing Sayra to hide her face with her hands for a second. Zaii's expression didn't change as he stayed silent until they'd finished speaking.

"M' ah, m' not a skelet'n." He finally mumbled quietly, rubbing the back of his head with a soft scrape of his fingers. "M' a skelet'n puppet. Just uh, built t'look like a skelet'n." He shrugged, before loosening his tie and undoing the top two buttons of his shirt. He pulled it to the side to show the area between his shoulder and his neck.

To be honest, Sayra had been expecting him to be a straight up skeleton as well. So when she and her coworker could see that that _wasn't_ the case she was a bit caught off guard. She certainly hadn't expected to see his neck be almost as thick as a human's and seem to flow down into clavicles, a creamy green and coral red gem set in between them. Either side of his neck was the same forest green as his fingers, instead of being empty space like it would be on an actual skeleton.

Figuring curiosities had been satisfied Zaii quickly buttoned up his shirt again and tightened his tie. "So, yeah." He then added with a small shrug, looking to the night manager of the shift who had surprisingly kept quiet this whole time. "'Nyway, uh, what 'm I gonna be doing tonight?" He asked, tone completely nonchalant.

"Oh, ah, yes. You'll be shadowing Sayra and she'll show you the basics." They stated plainly, giving a slight nod in Sayra's direction. She quickly turned on heel and grabbed a folding chair from against the nearby wall and popped it open, setting it down with a quiet scrape of metal. Grinning back at Zaii she made a little 'ta-da' motion with her hands, gesturing to the chair with it. Zaii gave the slightest of chuckles in response, calmly walking over and sitting down.

"Works for me. Thanks." He said as he settled into the stiff chair. Sayra plopped back down in her own chair and spun it to face him as she continued to smile brightly.

"I'll leave you three to it then. Have a good night." Their manager smiled slightly, giving them all a small nod before heading out of the room. A moment after they left, Sayra's coworker started grinning widely and opened their mouth like they were going to start chatting Zaii's ear off.

"Don't." Sayra suddenly spat at her coworker, shooting them a nasty look. Arndi huffed, looking offended at her tone.

"What? I was just gonna try and get to know him better. What's so bad about that?" They asked snappishly, earning a roll of Sayra's eyes.

"Because the last bombardment was _so_ polite." She retorted. "Come on, just get back to work. I gotta show Zaii how to work this stuff." She dismissively waved her hand, causing her coworker to snort and turn back to their own work finally. Zaii was silently grateful to her as he sat himself up a bit straighter.

"Sorry about them. They don't have a filter in their brain to stop them from saying stupid or inappropriate things. Sometimes I gotta be that filter for them." Sayra leaned in and mumbled to him, earning a tiny 'ha' in response. 

At that Sayra began to show and tell him what everything did on the panel of monitors in front of them. It wasn't hard, though there was a lot to memorize at first. Still she was confident he could pick it up easily, as he seemed to be paying close attention to everything she said. Well, she hoped he was anyway, as his expression was still the same sleepy grin as before. But he was leaning forward slightly, eyelights following her movements attentively, so she figured that was a good sign.

After showing him everything they fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds in the room being the soft whirr of machines, rustle of clothing when someone shifted in their seat, and gentle breathing. That was the kind of atmosphere Sayra liked when she worked; Just calm quiet as she and her coworkers got through their shift. It allowed the night to pass by peacefully, as no large incidents happened.

 

A good first night for Zaii.

 


	2. Foot, Meet Mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few days pass before Sayra gets to work with Zaii again. She phrases something poorly while talking to him, however, and subsequently regrets everything

A few days had gone by since Zaii's first shift. Sayra didn't get to see him very much as he was working with other coworkers, their manager wanting to get him used to everyone on third shift. Still everyone seemed pretty cool with him, which she had been a bit worried about admittedly. It wasn't every day you saw someone who looked like a skeleton, after all, and many people probably wouldn't be as ok with that as she had been. Or at least, that's what she'd thought. Her coworkers were at least all pretty chill from what she had heard.

So when she saw she worked with him that night, she was pretty pumped about it. For one, she wanted to make sure he really was getting along with everyone, and they weren't just claiming that to avoid her ire. Everyone knew Sayra didn't stand for injustice to others based upon things like their appearance. But, aside from that, Sayra had to admit she was also excited to talk with Zaii again. 

She arrived at work 15 minutes ahead of her scheduled time, as she normally did, and gave her coworkers currently in the office a wave as she walked by to go wait to punch in. One of them waved back to her with a cheerful, 'Yo!', going back to their work right after.

Sitting down in the employee lounge Sayra pulled out her phone to whittle away the minutes. She tapped away on the screen with one thumb, scrolling through one of her social media accounts in a bored way, before simply clicking the power button to shut it off so she could pocket it. Looking to the door when she heard footsteps she was happy to see Zaii walking in. His hands were lazily pocketed and his expression the sleepy grin he'd had when they first met. For a second she wondered if his face was immobile, which would make sense since he was a skeleton puppet.

"Hey there, Zaii!" She waved to him from her spot, earning a look in her direction. He seemed to mull over the right response for a second, before taking a hand from his pocket and giving her a slight wave. She didn't know how to feel about his lack of a verbal response but, well, maybe he just wasn't a chatty fellow. She'd passed off his un-talkativeness last time as being focused on work, though hey, if he didn't talk much that was ok. Sayra would just have to make sure he was ok with her chatting.

Zaii slid off the drawstring backpack he'd had slung over one of his shoulders and set it down on the small battered table shoved off to the side in the room. Pulling it open he took out a thermos and opened it with an easy twist. A few seconds later the smell of strong coffee reached Sayra as she watched him with curiosity. He was a coffee drinker, huh? Not her preferred drink, but it was something to keep in mind if she ever needed to get him a gift or something.

Before she could wonder how he was going to drink past his teeth he had pulled out a metal straw and stuck it in the thermos' small cup. Pouring some of the black liquid into the cup he lifted it to his face. His mouth opened a fraction, producing a small click in the process, the inside of it just as dark as his sockets. He took the straw in between sharp teeth, eyelights slowly drifting over to Sayra. Admittedly she was still staring, and she gave him a sheepish grin in response to being caught.

"….Need s'mthing?" He grunted out, his voice sounding like it was right next to her and not like he was across the room. That caught her off guard and she couldn't stop her flinch fast enough. Zaii's gaze fell off to the side slightly at that, his shoulder's dropping a fraction, like he had been waiting for that kind of reaction.

"Shit- sorry!" Sayra had caught the small shift in mood, and instantly felt bad. "Wasn't expecting you to sound so close! That's really cool, though." She tried to sound as genuine as she felt, not wanting Zaii to think she had something against him. "Anyway, yeah, I can't even try and pass off my staring. You're really neat looking ok, and I want to learn how you function. Wait-" Sayra felt her cheeks warm slightly as she quickly tried to dig herself back out of the hole she was finding herself in.

"Ok so I really didn't mean it in such a weird way. I mean, you're a skelepuppet- wait shit! I mean! A skeleton puppet! So I- Yeah I mean? You were built, probably? Ah hell, I sound so stupid right now; I'm sorry. It's probably rude as hell to ask you something like that." Foot, meet mouth. UGH. "What I'm trying to say is that I was curious how you were going to drink your coffee since you have a skeleton-based head and mouth and I wasn't sure if you had an immobile face or not. Sorry for staring, though. That was also pretty rude of me." By the end of her ramble she just kind of wanted it to sink into the threadbare couch and not have to look at Zaii anymore, feeling so bad for how poorly her words had come out. He probably thought she was some creep who didn't get topic boundaries.

To her surprise he instead let out a soft chuckle. Waving his hand with a click of joints he took another sip of his coffee through the straw. "Nah. 'S fine. But uh, skelepuppet?" He asked, and she could just imagine him quirking his brow if he well uh _, had_ eyebrows. She let out a groan in response, covering her face.

"I'm _sorry_! I totally said it without thinking!" She whined, slipping far enough down the couch that her lower half was hanging off and against the floor awkwardly. This earned another chuckle from him, a finger tapping gently against the metal of the thermos cup.

"Again, 's fine. Haven't uh, heard it before." He shrugged. He took another sip of coffee as he watched her, his face still not giving her any indication of his mood. His voice sounded nonchalant, but frankly his whole _everything_ seemed perpetually nonchalant. "Can't say I mind it." Zaii added, and she could've sworn she saw the corners of his grin hitch just a tiny bit higher. "'S easier t'say, 'nyway."

"Well ok, good. I'm glad. I was worried I'd seriously offended you or something." Sayra breathed a sigh of relief, pushing herself properly onto the couch. "So here's another invasive question, or I guess statement. I pegged you for the silent type, but now I'm not sure. I mean either way is fine, but I don't wanna keep dragging you into conversation if that's not your thing." She wanted to wince again at pressing for more information from him, but this time it had a good reason! 

Zaii seemed to think on his response, like when he'd first walked in. His finger tap-tapped away at his cup, jostling the straw a bit and causing it to scrape along the rim softly. For a second Sayra worried she'd stepped too far with her words. "Talking 's uh, 's hard for me." He finally said simply, half shrugging as he took another sip of his drink. "Lotta focus needed. 'S easier t'stay quiet." Well that explained a lot, and now Sayra felt bad she'd gotten him to talk this much.

She hesitated with this information, wondering hard if he felt obligated to respond to her for some reason. But, no, that wouldn't make sense. He just admitted that he had no problem staying quiet. That made the fact he'd been talking to her mean that much more. 

Gaze lighting up, she felt the need to express this. "Well then hey, thanks for putting in the effort to talk to me! Sorry if I stepped on any toes with my babbling." She said brightly, pushing herself to her feet. It was time to go clock in if she didn't want to be late. Heading over to the time cards she quickly swiped her key and put in her password.

Zaii responded with his normal soft chuckle, setting down his cup to lazily walk over to her so he could clock in as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posting this a few days early because EH, WHY NOT //shrugs
> 
> find me elsewhere;  
> kakusart.tumblr.com  
> deidaraart5.deviantart.com


	3. Don't Freak Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayra realizes that while she likes quiet while she works, she doesn't like it THAT much. Unfortunately her attempts to relieve the silence result in another "foot-meet-mouth" moment. At least she learns some new stuff in the process!

Zaii took out his ID card and tried to swipe it through the reader as Sayra had done. It gave a negative beep, the small light flicking red for a second. He paused before trying again, only to be met with the same sound. Was he not using enough pressure?

He tried to readjust his grip on the card carefully, not wanting to crack it on accident, but it slipped from his fingers and dropped to the floor. He grumbled quietly, feeling embarrassed as Sayra watched him with worry.

Before he could reach down to grab it she already had, swiping it through the reader successfully on the first try. He felt a small bitter pang of jealousy at the ease of which she could do that, but forced the feeling away just as fast. At least he was able to key in his password with no difficulty, mumbling a quiet thanks to her as she handed him back his card.

Sayra was admittedly still worried for him after that little display. Was he feeling ok? Was he injured? She didn't know why he had been having such trouble swiping his card, and his annoyance at it was clear even if his face had remained passive. She bit her tongue however, not wanting to upset him further.

With them both clocked in Zaii went back over to his coffee and quickly gulped down the rest of it through the straw, slurping loudly for a second when he'd reached the end. He tossed the straw back in his bag and put the lid/cup on the thermos again, also putting that in his bag after. Once he stuck the backpack into his designated cubby he followed Sayra out of the room and back towards the monitor room.

Their coworkers were eager to be relieved so they could head home finally and wasted no time packing up and getting out of the small office. Sayra and Zaii took their spots, easily falling into comfortable silence.

As the night slowly wore on, Sayra was starting to grow bored. While she liked that there was no trouble, she was unused to such long stretches of complete silence, as most of her coworkers tried to chat every now and again. She usually didn't instigate conversation herself, but the silence was actually starting to bug her. Zaii worked almost too quietly.

"Hey uh-" She started, not taking her gaze off the screens in front of her. "Mind if I ask a few questions? You don't have to answer any of them, obviously." She dared to spare him a glance, hoping he wouldn't be irritated. His posture was passive and he seemed to hesitate like he usually did when she asked or said something that might be pushing it.

"Sure." He finally relented, shrugging his shoulders as he kept his gaze on his own set of monitors. Sayra noticed his hesitation however, and quickly filtered through the questions she wanted to ask to try and find the least offensive ones. She didn't want him regretting his choice after all!

"Well, ummm…I'm super curious ok; can your face move at all? I've never seen you blink or frown, but you were able to open your mouth earlier." Ok that was a bit more invasive than she'd intended, but it had been bothering her!

Feeling a small tap on her wrist she looked over to see him turned slightly to face her. Confusion flashed across her face, but was replaced by excitement a second later as she watched his face. Zaii winked one eye, bone (or whatever it was - she would have to ask eventually) sliding down over his teeth to hide them like he had skin instead, though he was still smiling. Sayra was grinning, feeling almost giddy about this for some reason. However just as fast as it had happened had his expression gone back to its default as he turned back to the screens.

"Wow ok, yeah that answers that. That was really cool!" She bubbled, still grinning as she turned her attention back to her own work. "Ok, next question! What is your favorite food?" That one was innocent enough, right?

"Uh" Zaii started, instantly making Sayra regret that question. "I don't uh, I don't eat. 'S a personal choice." He stated simply, and Sayra could tell he was uncomfortable discussing this. Oh god why didn't she think that question through?! He was a puppet, of course he didn't eat!

"Well there goes my foot, right back into my mouth." She mumbled in response, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "Sorry, I totally didn't even think that one through. I keep forgetting you're a puppet." She wasn't about to ask why he was drinking coffee earlier if he didn't eat. As he said, it was a personal choice.

"That isn't to say there's anything wrong with being a puppet! I just- I mean- to me you're Zaii, my coworker. I see you as that before I see your uh, species? Yeah ok, I should stop talking now." She groaned, covering her face with a hand for a second. Sayra hoped she hadn't damaged the small bit of friendship she felt they had.

Zaii shrugged in response, turning his full attention back to the screens at that point. The silence felt awkward, at least for Sayra, as she continued to deal with a nag at the back of her mind that told her she messed up. Oh well, she finally concluded, that just meant she'd have to try harder in the future!

 

It wasn't long, however, before a soft scrape of his bones pulled her attention back to him once more.

 

 

"Hey are you ok?" Sayra asked quietly, noticing Zaii had put a hand on his head. He gave a slight grunt in response, his trademark lazy grin twisting into a grimace. That worried her more, but if he wasn't up for talking then she wouldn't push. It had been a long night already, so maybe he was just getting a headache or something.

 

Could he even get headaches?

 

She found herself wondering that, though was startled from the thought when Zaii let out a sharp puff of air. Why he needed to breathe she didn't know, but that question could wait, as he was obviously not ok.

In her brief zone out Zaii had gripped his head tightly with both hands, his eyes shut as his scowl worsened. She heard hisses of words, unable to make any out, but knowing they were due to the apparent pain he was suddenly in.

Suddenly the skeleton puppet smacked a hand down on his desk loudly, getting a startled jump out of Sayra. She stood quickly and took the five steps needed to cross the small room. Before she could speak or offer him any attempts at comfort he let out a gurgled voice, it's sound distorted slightly like it was coming through a bad connection.

"P-pocket. Pill- hhg- pill bottle." He groaned, doubling forward as his body was wracked with shudders and lurches. The movements caused his joints to clatter quietly. He hated having to ask for her help, but knew he was already shaking far too much to be able to get the medication out himself. The last thing he needed was to drop his pills everywhere.

Sayra inhaled sharply and nodded once, quickly patting his pockets down awkwardly to feel which one had the bottle he needed. Reaching into his left pocket she pulled out the small orange container, twisting it open with ease. Looking to him she opened her mouth to ask how many, but was stopped again when he choked out, "one."

Shaking one of the small brown orbs out and onto her hand she made to give it to him but could see he wouldn't be able to take it on his own. "Open your mouth." She said firmly, but softly. He made a pained noise, his jaw opening with a grating click like it was fighting him.

Being careful of his sharp teeth she pushed the pill into his mouth and his jaw snapped shut as soon as her fingers were clear. Sayra waited nervously, wondering how long it would take for the medication to work, and also wondering what the heck it even was.

She was once again startled from her thoughts when Zaii turned his face to look at her. The rings of light in his eyes were dimmer than she had ever seen, the left one gone completely and the right nearly invisible in the inky darkness of the socket. His body still shook as he tried to work his voice.

"Don't…F-freak o-…out." He rasped after a few seconds, obviously using a lot of effort to say those words. Sayra nearly responded when suddenly his eyelights completely vanished and his face relaxed into the lazy grin. More frightening however was that his body just fell limp, without warning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILL ZAII BE OK? WILL SAYRA EVER LEARN HOW TO NOT SAY STUPID STUFF THAT SHE INSTANTLY REGRETS? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHY DOESN'T ZAII LIKE EATING?!*
> 
> TUNE IN NEXT WEEK FOR THE THRILLING CONTINUATION \o/ 
> 
> *unlikely to ever be answered tbh


	4. Freak Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panic. Just sheer panic. Sayra can't even begin to gather up her thoughts to figure out what to do for Zaii, so she does the only thing she can think of; She takes his phone and makes a call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic attack

He collapsed sideways against his desk like a puppet who's strings had been cut, his arms laying oddly crossed across his lap. Sayra took in a sharp breath, immediately grabbing Zaii's shoulders.

"Zaii?" She asked in a small voice, looking at him with concern. She didn't like how his eyes were just _black_ , the sockets staring off unseeingly as his limbs clacked together lifelessly with her slight jostling. "Zaii? Zaii please? Why aren't you responding!?" Her voice started to grow more frantic, the pitch jumping and cracking.

Sayra couldn't help but start to freak out then, completely disregarding Zaii's words to avoid doing just that. But how could she listen to him when he appeared to be **dead**?! Her thoughts were scrambled as she debated calling emergency services, only to remember he was a puppet and they probably wouldn't be able to do anything for him. So, in her panic, she searched his pockets until she found his phone.

Flipping it open, as it was an old model, she quickly brought up his contacts and scanned over them for someone she could call. His naming system was confusing to say the least, as there were no actual names- only roles? She read down the list:

 

Artist, Astronomer, Book keeper, Caregiver, Chemist, Craftsmen, Dancer, Hunter, Singer- wait hold on.

 

She scrolled back up to Caregiver and Chemist, looking between the two and trying to decide which would be more helpful. Well, assuming the contact names coincided with their professions. After a few seconds she selected Caregiver, hitting call and bringing the phone up to her ear. It rang once, twice, three times. She was worried no one would pick up, but on the fourth ring there was a click and a soft voice.

"Hello? Zaii? Is everything alright?" The voice was soothing and motherly, sounding like the speaker was female but Sayra wasn't going to make assumptions. She took in a shaky breath and managed to find her voice.

"Ah, no I'm- I'm Zaii's coworker. My name is Sayra. S-sorry to call you but- I was hoping you could help me? Zaii was suddenly hit with a lot of pain and had me give him a pill from a bottle he had in his pocket and then he told me to not freak out which I'm kinda not doing a great job of but can you blame me I mean he just suddenly collapsed and he's not moving and his eyes are blank and it looks like he's _dead_ and he won't wake up and I'm really freaked out ok I'm terrified I just like, killed my coworker or something and oh god what do I do?!"

Sayra barely paused for a breath of air as she rambled on, her whole body trembling with nerves. She put a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her panicked gasps. Tears burned in the corners of her eyes, causing her to squeeze them shut. The voice on the other end remained silent for a few more seconds, before speaking up again.

"I am very glad you called me, it's good for me to know he's had another episode. I'll tell you what is happening, and what you should do, but first I need you to breathe in. One, two, three, four. Now please hold the breath. One, two, three, four. Release it now. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Inhale again. One, two, three, four. Hold, one, two, three, four. Exhale, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven." the lady soothed, having Sayra repeat that breathing exercise a few more times until she had calmed back down.

"Now then, I will start by first saying you do not need to worry for him. When was the last time he had a smoking break?" She asked Sayra, which confused the still nervous lady.

"Uh like? I think a few hours at least. We've not had time for a break yet." Sayra responded, wanting to add on a 'why?' at the end, but refraining.

"His cigarettes have magic in them to prevent episodes like this from happening. It appears he'd gone too long without one and needed to use his backup medicine. Here, let me explain why this is." It was like this lady could read Sayra's mind or something, providing all the information she wanted to ask about.

"See, us Skeleton Puppets-" the lady started, but Sayra couldn't stop herself from interrupting.

"Wait! You're a skelepuppet too?!" She gasped, before realizing what she had done. Before she could apologize the lady just softly laughed.

"Yes, I am. I am Aubanna, the Caregiver. Though the latter you seemed to have already known, given you called me." She said gently, easing Sayra's guilt a bit.

"Yeah you're in his phone as Caregiver, so I took a chance that that was your job." Sayra sheepishly replied, rubbing the side of her neck. Man it would've been awkward if Aubanna hadn't really been a caregiver. Her response earned another soft laugh.

"As I was saying, we skeleton puppets have inanimate bodies, so our sense of touch and movement is based upon a thin film of magic covering our body. Our sense of pain is different, thanks to this. We have what is called an 'impact sensitive' pain response. As in, the more the field is disrupted the more it hurts. Think of it like the surface of water; Disruptions cause ripples, and the more there are as well as the severity of them, the more it registers as pain.

"You've seen the cracks in his skull of course. They have an unfortunate negative impact of constantly disrupting the film of magic, quite severely in fact. The magic in his cigarettes and emergency medicine suppresses the magic surrounding him, reducing the pain. Well, the pills completely suppress it, causing him to be unable to move. Essentially the pills knock him out." Aubanna finished, giving Sayra a moment to absorb it all.

"Wait you said the film of magic is his sense of touch, yeah? Is that why he drops stuff a lot and seems pretty clumsy? Since his cigarettes numb him." She asked, suddenly realizing how much that explained. Aubanna giggled, sounding muffled as she seemed to turn her head from the phone.

"Yes, that would be why. He cannot easily tell how much strength he is using. He is very strong, so he doesn't wish to risk harming others or breaking things by gripping too tightly." She replied with mirth in her voice, finding Sayra's reaction amusing. "The result is, as you put it, clumsiness and dropping things often."

"Man that really explains a lot. But uh, you said he's pretty much knocked out right now? How long is that gonna last?" Sayra's tone sobered up again rapidly as she shot a glance at her still lifeless coworker.

"Well, if you called me immediately after he ah, 'passed out', then he should only be out for about forty more minutes. Maybe a bit less." Aubanna's tone implied a shrug and she seemed calm about it. It helped Sayra's nerves settle somewhat once more. "Do you have access to any drinks that are infused with life magic, by chance?" Aubanna then asked, causing Sayra to let out a little hum as she thought.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure there's something like that in the vending machine. Should I go snag one?" She asked, already reaching into her pocket for her wallet as she began to walk towards the door.

"Yes, I would recommend this. Have him drink it when he wakes back up. It will help his disorientation and lethargy." Aubanna replied. "And don't worry, he shall be just fine so long as he doesn't go too long between his doses in the future."

That of course meant Sayra was going to have to keep a closer eye on the time when they worked together so she could remind him to take a smoke break. She never wanted to go through this sort of thing again.. Shoving the sickening worry aside she headed to the vending machine just down the hall and looked over the choices.

"Uh, sparkle bomb has life magic in it, right? I don't really drink energy drinks, but I know some of them have life magic infused in them since it boosts energy in small doses." Sayra mumbled as she rubbed the side of her head, before switching which hand was holding the phone so she could stretch her arm. She was glad she'd thought to bring some single zios chips, usually only having five or ten chips on her.

Aubanna laughed lightly again, her voice cheerful as she responded. "Yes, that is one that has infused life magic in it. It will work fine for Zaii, though you may have to convince him to drink it. He is ah, picky at times, over silly things like that. Really I don't understand him sometimes. It's not like we skeleton puppets can _taste_ anything, after all." She tittered gently again, as if she had just told Sayra a joke.

Well, that was new info to Sayra. She had to wonder then why he seemed to enjoy coffee if he couldn't taste it. That was something she could ask Zaii later, though. Instead she focused on inserting two Z1.00 chips, tapping the buttons needed to select the sparkle bomb drink.

She grabbed it up a second after it dropped down, looking over the pastel pink label printed on the can. "Ok I got it. So now I just, uh, go back and wait for him to wake up?" Sayra hesitated slightly, wishing there was more she could do besides wait.

"Yes that is correct." Aubanna replied, causing Sayra to sigh. Of course that's all she could do. Dang.

"Well, thanks. For all your help and the info, I mean. I seriously don't know what I would've done without you!" Sayra admitted. "But uh, I should let you go. Not much point to keeping you on the line now, plus I totally forgot it's like, 4 in the morning. Shit- I didn't wake you did I? Gods if I did I am **so** sorry!" She gasped, smacking her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Don't worry, we skeleton puppets don't sleep. Certainly we will rest during the night generally, but you did not wake me." Aubanna soothed, a slight laugh to her voice. "Before you let me go, however, I would like to request something of you." That had Sayra curious and she hummed a questioning sound in response. "If you would please, save my number in your own phone. That way if he ah, has another 'episode', you won't have to take his phone to contact me."

Oh. Wait. Shit. Sayra had totally forgotten she'd been using Zaii's phone this whole time! She mentally cursed, hoping his battery was still fine after such a long call. Pushing that aside quickly she took out her own phone after juggling the cold drink into the crook of her elbow.

"Yeah that makes sense! I'll do that in just a sec. Have a good rest of your uh, rest, Aubanna!" Sayra said cheerfully, hanging up after the skelepuppet on the other end had said her goodbyes as well. Quickly Sayra put Aubanna's contact info into her own phone.

Heading back into the monitor room Sayra walked right to Zaii. Carefully she went to put his phone back in his pocket, but paused. Flipping it open she found his number and put it into her phone quickly. That probably wasn't the best idea on her part, but she wanted to be able to check in on him, ok.

With that done she put his phone back in his pocket and set the drink down on the desk. Sitting back in her chair she resumed watching the screens, nervously waiting for Zaii to wake up. She wanted to move him to a more comfortable looking position, but was pretty sure he wouldn't be ok with that.

Slowly the time ticked by as Sayra tried to focus on the monitors, shooting nervous glances at her coworker every few minutes. Ten minutes passed, and then fifteen, and then..

Eventually, she heard a quiet inhale from the still puppet. His body clicked softly at the joints as he slowly righted himself in his chair. Eye sockets blinking lethargically, his eyelights seeming shaky as he looked at the drink still sitting in front of him, and then to Sayra. Confusion and wariness made their way to his gaze, wondering how she knew to get him something with life magic in it.

"Zaii!" Sayra exclaimed excitedly, resisting the urge to grab him up in a hug. "Stars am I glad you're awake! You've been out for like an hour; I was really worried about you." She couldn't stop grinning as Zaii looked back at her silently.

Finally he couldn't hold back anymore, looking away from her and back to the drink. "How'd'ja know t'get this for me?" He asked as he reached out to it and turned it in its spot slowly. "I never told you I lived off life magic." His mouth turned down into a frown before he could stop it. Maybe it was just coincidence, but he didn't think so. Looking to her again, he could tell how nervous she suddenly was.

"Oh- well, uh…" Should she lie? No, that would just upset him more. Especially since all it took was looking at his call history to know what she'd done. Letting out a sigh she rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. "I panicked and uh? Called Aubanna?" A sheepish grin met Zaii's blank look.

"So you're saying….Y'took my phone..'N called one'v my contacts?" He spoke slowly, fingers gripping the top of the can tighter, casing the metal to dent in protest.  Letting go of it suddenly he put a hand on his face and sighed harshly. "'N of all'v them, it was th' Caregiver.. _Goddamnit_."

Sayra had never heard Zaii swear, and honestly hadn't taken him for the type given his generally nonchalant attitude. She felt guilty, but at the same time justified in her actions. After all, just because he told her to not freak out didn't mean she had been about to ignore her coworker after he passed out suddenly.

"Look, I know you said not to panic, but Zaii seriously. From my point of view I saw a coworker practically convulsing from some unknown form of pain, gave him a pill I knew nothing about, and then he proceeded to fall so limp I had to question if he was even _alive_ anymore, with no way to figure the answer out. What was I supposed to do? Ignore it and go about my night as normal? How careless would that have been- not to mention dangerous if something had been legitimately wrong with you beyond the pain." She responded sharply, biting back the less kind words she wanted to spit at his attitude.

Zaii at least had the sense to look a little guilty as he rubbed the side of his head with a gentle scrape. He let out a heavy sigh, relenting to her logic finally. "Yeah, yeah, I get'cha." He mumbled. "'M sorry for w'rrying you."

Sayra's gaze softened for a moment before she narrowed her eyes again. "You still should drink that, though." She pointed at the forgotten can of Sparkle Bomb. "Don't think I'm letting you get out of it because you apologized. You need the boost; Aubanna told me so. And like it or not, that was the only choice they had." She chided, sounding almost motherly in her tone.

Zaii let out a faint chuckle and shook his head slightly at her attitude, grabbing the drink up. He pulled back the tab, releasing a hiss of air from the can. Looking at it almost disdainfully he lifted it to his mouth, bone shifting to act like lips so he could drink directly from it. He hated moving his mouth at all, but he didn't have his straw on him, so he'd have to make due.

A grimace flashed across his mouth as he lowered the can, free hand coming up to brush over his teeth for a second like he was trying to wipe the taste away. Sayra really had to wonder what that reaction was about, since according to Aubanna he couldn't taste. He let out a displeased sound and looked at the can in his hand, before reluctantly taking another drink.

"For th'record.." Zaii started, sounding like he was well and truly grossed out by what he was drinking even as he continued to down it. His voice was entirely unaffected by the fact he was drinking something; Which was an interesting thing she'd have to ask about later for sure- "M'coffee has life magic in it. 'S why I drink it. Works better than… _This_." He looked at the can again, really not able to hide another grimace. It was almost funny to Sayra, but she bit back her giggles. She needed him to finish the drink still, and irritating him wouldn't help with that.

"While I sincerely hope there is never a repeat of this, I'll keep that in mind." She responded, watching him continue to try and finish the beverage off. He looked kinda miserable drinking it, and a small part of her felt spitefully glad he was suffering mildly after snapping at her for panicking. She squashed that feeling down just as quickly as it flared up, angry at herself for taking any pleasure in his unhappiness, no matter the reason. 

He barely knew her, after all, and she'd invaded his privacy by going through his phone and then calling one of his contacts- Even if it was for a good reason. He was allowed to be angry about that. If she had been him she probably would have been irritated as well. At least he acknowledged she hadn't done it for any malicious reason, and was even doing as she told despite his obvious dislike of the flavor- Or, whatever it was he didn't like about it.

 

….Man she had a lot of questions for him later..

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehehe no regrets \o /
> 
> http://sta.sh/0239mfnitp03 - Aubanna
> 
> https://i.gyazo.com/3a19e66131f0e143ded831c45db38e57.png Also these are Zios, the currency of this world!


	5. Mr. Bean's Parlor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayra finally has a day off and she's SO gonna waste it by binge-watching a TV show- wait what do you mean Arndi's texting?? They never do that??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is like two days late i had some stuff going on that caused me to forget to post another chapter, whoops

After Zaii finished his drink a silence fell over them for the remainder of their shift.  A lot had happened that night and both him and Sayra were worn out and ready for a break from any more excitement. Things didn't end on a sour note thankfully, and Zaii even mumbled a 'goodnight' to Sayra after they had clocked out. She considered that a good sign.

The next day (or more accurately, a few hours later in that same day; third shift schedules were always a bit confusing) Sayra got out of bed and eagerly got herself dressed in a slim fitting muscle tank and some soft mid-length shorts. It was her day off and she was excited to relax, not getting days off very often. She didn't complain however as the money made all those hours put in worth it. It was still nice to not have that nighttime obligation, though!

Flopping onto her couch she picked up the bowl of cereal she'd set down a moment before, remote in her other hand as she turned on the TV to begin her binge watching. _Finally_ she could catch up on that show she'd been wanting to watch for weeks, and she was totally ready to zone out for hours.

Her phone, however, had other plans. It chimed brightly and she snorted slightly, having half a mind to ignore it. When it went off again, however, she sighed and paused the show she'd just started. Scooping up her phone she unlocked it and brought up her messages, seeing two new texts from Arndi of all people.

They _never_ texted her, and especially never asked her if she wanted to hang out. An uncomfortable squirm settled in her gut as she read over their messages, able to clearly tell something wasn't quite right with her coworker. Well now she was worried, and she couldn't in good conscious go back to mindlessly watching tv if her coworker needed her.

Tapping out a reply of, 'Sure! Where do you want to meet?' Sayra hit send, setting down her phone to shovel soggy cereal in her mouth. She barely got a bite in before her phone dinged again.

 

**Arndi:**

[4:21pm]  *how abt @ mr bean on tolu st?

**Sayra:**

[4:21pm] *that works for me. I'll see you in about 15, then?

**Arndi:**

[4:22pm] *ya works 4 me. see u soon :p

[4:22pm] *…thanks, btw

 

Sayra felt a sad tug in her chest at her coworker's last text. She quickly scarfed down the rest of her cereal, depositing the bowl in the kitchen sink with a clink of ceramic and metal. Heading to her front door she slipped on shoes and grabbed up her wallet. After slipping it in her pocket she glanced to the mirror hung next to the door. Adjusting her short, curly ash blonde locks to something resembling orderly, she finally headed out of her apartment door, locking it behind her. Thankfully Tolu Street was pretty close by, only being about 7 minutes on foot. 

Foot traffic was light and allowed Sayra to get to Mr. Beans' Parlor a bit faster than anticipated. She almost wished she'd walked slower as it was lovely and temperate out. It wasn't because she was kind of dreading the reason her coworker wanted to hang out; She would never think that way about someone no matter how much they annoyed her!

 

….Ok, but she was at least trying not to think that way. That had to count for something, right?

 

Steeling herself she finally headed inside, only to be instantly met with an enthusiastic 'Sayra!' from a table by the window. She looked over to see Arndi waving wildly at her, leaning halfway over the table as they grinned brightly. She smiled back and walked over, sliding into the seat across from them.

"Hey Arndi. Wasn't expecting you to get here so fast; don't you live like ten minutes from here by cab?" She asked somewhat cautiously. They waved their hand with a bit of a laugh.

"Yeah but I was in the area already. Had some errands to run nearby." They said simply, grabbing their glass of water up to sip at it. "It's good to see you though." They added after setting the cup down, fingers still lingering on it's cool surface.

"I wanted to ask about that too…Not that it bothers me that you wanted to hang out, but you've never asked to before? We've known each other for like four months. Is everything alright-" Just as she finished speaking did her gaze slide over Arndi's appearance, settling on a fading black eye she hadn't noticed before.

"Holy shit- what happened?! Who the hell did that to you?!" She gasped, leaning over the table to get a better look. Arndi recoiled back in surprise, holding up their hands defensively.

"Whoa, simmer down there buddy! It's totally not what you think. Actually, it's pretty funny looking back on it." They cracked a grin at her skeptical glare. "So my fiancée was trying to open this jar of olives, right? Ok and I'm trying to help her- emphasis on trying because she totally wouldn't give me the jar. And in the half-struggle she managed to open the stubborn thing, but neither of us were expecting it, so wham! Her hand hits me square in the eye!"

They laughed for a few seconds, pretending to wipe away a tear. "Stars, she felt _so_ bad about it! She kept apologizing no matter how many times I told her it was alright. Hurt like a bitch at the time but hey, accidents happen." Arndi shrugged casually and Sayra reluctantly settled back down. She might not be terribly close to her coworker, but she couldn't stand the idea of someone she knew getting abused by anyone. 

"Anyway whatcha think of Zaii? I haven't gotten to work with him again since the first time." Arndi asked, changing the topic suddenly enough to cause Sayra to reel a bit mentally.

"Uh-" she started dumbly, blinking a few times. "He's cool. Not much for conversation, but I don't mind. Easy enough to work with." She shrugged, leaning back in her chair. Sayra wanted to avoid telling Arndi about the previous night's incident, as she wasn't sure Zaii wanted everyone knowing. She would have to tell her manager however, needing to make sure Zaii took his breaks.

"That's it?" Arndi pout, as if they had expected some sort of juicy gossip or something. Sayra snorted in response.

"Yeah, that's it. I've only worked with him twice myself. There's not a lot of room for learning about him in such a short amount of time." She responded bluntly.

"That's just cause you're not asking the right questions!" Arndi scoffed, rolling their eyes.

"You mean because I'm respectful of boundaries." Sayra spat in a sharp tone, causing Arndi to flinch and frown without any sort of retort. Ok, that may have been a bit harsh.. "Sorry, that was really rude of me." She mumbled, but Arndi shook their head.

"Nah, you're right. I don't know when to shut up." They sounded _so dejected_ as they looked off to the side, holding their glass in their hands and running a thumb over the condensation gathering on it.

Sayra felt a stab of guilt, chewing on the inside of her cheek for a second. "No, I was being a jerk ok." She tried backpedaling, not wanting Arndi to be upset. Truth or not, they didn't deserve that. Arndi gave her a sad smile then, not responding. There was a pregnant pause, and just as Sayra opened her mouth to try and salvage the conversation did the door behind her chime and Arndi's gaze light up.

"Zaii!" They suddenly exclaimed excitedly, waving wildly and causing Sayra to turn enough in her seat to see the person who just walked in. And there he stood, pausing awkwardly to look over at them with his usual grin- which Sayra now knew was his face's default expression. Man that was going to make reading his emotions a helluva lot more difficult.

"Oh hey, Zaii! Fancy seeing you here." She smiled at her coworker as well. His eyelights flicked between her and Arndi for a second, before he gave a little wave of acknowledgment.

He seemed to hesitate then, as if unsure about proceeding to his original destination or going over to them. Sayra gave him an ushering wave, motioning to the counter. "Nah go get what you came for; we'll be here still." She said simply, and she was sure she saw him visibly relax though it was extremely slight.

Nodding in response he quickly went up to the register where a rather grouchy cashier stood waiting. He spoke quietly to the guy, and Sayra had to wonder how his voice worked once more. He could project it across a room like he was standing next to her, but could also apparently direct it like a normal voice? However he did it, it was really kind of neat to her.

After another minute or so Zaii returned with a small bag of coffee in one hand. He shifted slightly on his feet, as if entirely unsure of what he was doing. Sara hadn't taken him for the socially awkward type, and almost felt a little bad for her and Arndi dragging him into interactions with them.

"So what kind of coffee did you get?" She asked to break the brief silence.

"Oh, uh…" Zaii started, giving a halfhearted shrug. "Just m'usual, Est brew." Sayra filed that name away quickly for future reference- You know, in case she got him for the Christmas white elephant thing or something.

"I've not had that kind before. It smelled good though when you opened your thermos." She replied cheerfully, turning her upper body to better face him. It was a welcoming gesture on her part, hoping to make him feel like she wanted to interact with him. She couldn't tell if it was working, though..

"'S a good one, yeah. Lotta magic 'n it." He replied, grabbing the last free chair at the table and sitting down in it. "Pricy, though." He added with almost a grumble, though he didn't actually seem that irritated. It was hard to tell with him. At least he looked a bit more comfortable now.

The three of them continued to chat about various things, the mood staying light much to Sayra's happiness. Arndi even managed to not ask any invasive questions, and she could tell that they _really_ wanted to. At least they were trying; that was all she could ask for. However before long Zaii was saying goodbye, waving to them as he left the café with a tiny bit more bounce to his step. (Maybe Sayra was just imagine that last part, who knows.)

Arndi looked back to Sayra after Zaii was gone, their smile turning melancholy as they clasped their hands together on the table. "Hey, thanks again. For hanging out with me, I mean. I-..I know I'm not the, uh, easiest person to get along with..So it really means a lot." They spoke softly, unable to really meet Sayra's gaze.

She reached out a hand, resting it on theirs lightly, smiling back at them. "I'm glad I did. And hey, you know you can always come to me if you need someone." She replied, speaking just as quietly as they had.

Arndi let out a small hiccup of a laugh, pulling one of their hands back to rub at their eye for a moment. "Stars, I don't get you sometimes. You're so nice. _How_ are you so nice?" They asked, though it felt more rhetorical than a genuine question. Still Sayra responded  with a small shrug.

"Everyone needs someone they can rely on. Might as well be that someone." She said simply, patting their hand gently before pushing herself to her feet. "Anyway, sorry to cut this short, but I've got some errands I unfortunately just remembered and if I keep putting them off I'm going to be eating instant noodles until my next day off." She laughed sheepishly, waving to Arndi as she headed for the café door. As much as she didn't want to, she needed to get groceries..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also comments are my lifeblood 
> 
> pls talk to me
> 
> pls ;;
> 
> (you can even message me [on tumblr](kakusart.tumblr.com) if you want!!!)


	6. Shift Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayra manages to make herself get groceries and then makes it home. _Finally_ she can watch her shows-WHY IS THE PHONE RINGING AGAIN?!

Well, here she was. At the store. To get groceries.

 

…

 

She only had to go inside, get her stuff, and then head home. But _ugh_ , not even the great Yene Lecasa herself could make Sayra enjoy shopping. She didn't even know _what_ it was about the task that she so vehemently disliked.

But hate it she did, and so she often put off doing it until she had very little choice left. The idea of living off of instant noodles for probably a week or more, however, was good enough motivation for her to begrudgingly drag herself into the store. Noodles were not a good meal three times a day, after all.

Mercifully for her the trip didn't take long. She was able to quickly gather everything she needed (and a few things she didn't), pay for her groceries, and then start on the trip back to her home. She silently thanked herself for keeping in shape, making carrying several bags stuffed with food much easier than it would have been otherwise.

As she walked down the semi-crowed sidewalk part of her wished she had a car to make the journey a bit quicker; But living in a city made the need for one pretty much non-existent. She had a bicycle for getting to work, and there was public transportation to get anywhere too far to walk or bike.

By that point in her trip she was too close to home to bother wasting the money on a cab, so she just sucked up her displeasure and firmly marched on. The return trip took a little longer than her initial walk to the café, despite the very similar distances, which she blamed on the bags weighing down her arms.

After unlocking her door and heading inside, Sayra set her groceries down on the counter with a heaving sigh. She freed her arms from the multiple loops of plastic, rubbing at the red stripes glaring starkly against her skin. Plastic was not kind when pressed hard into flesh for extended periods of time.

With the blood having fully returned to her arms she got to work putting everything away. The task was almost as annoying as shopping, and she gave up partway through, just shoving the nonperishables into a corner on her counter. She could deal with those later.

 _Finally_ Sayra was free to watch her show for the rest of the day. She flopped onto her couch and clicked the TV on, bringing up the streaming service she used. Scrolling through her list she was just about to hit 'play' when her phone chimed. Sayra let out a frustrated groan and dug the offending device out of her pocket, half tempted to chuck it away. When she saw the name "Zaii" on her screen, however, she quickly unlocked it and brought up the message.

 

**Zaii:**

[6:39pm] *I need you to cover for me tonight. The shift is 10 to 4 and is patrol.

 

Sayra paused, furrowing her brows at the text. While she didn't mind helping out, she didn't really appreciate how he seemed to be demanding this of her. Did he think she owed him since she went through his phone and called someone? She thought they had resolved that already… Before she could type up a response two more messages appeared. Man he typed fast on that ancient thing.

 

**Zaii:**

[6:40pm] *Please, I mean. I would really appreciate it.

[6:40pm] *This is Zaii, by the way. I got your number from  the manager. Sorry if that bothers you.

 

Well at least Sayra didn't have to worry about him wondering how she got his number. She was frustrated that she just lost her day off, but she really doubted Zaii would ask her to cover him if it wasn't important.

 

**Sayra:**

[6:41pm] *Yea I guess I can

[6:41pm] *and don’t worry about it, I'd have given it to you anyway if you'd asked

 

Hitting send she quickly opened her alarm app and set an alarm to remind her about the shift. After turning off the screen with a huff of breath she finally turned her attention back to the tv and hit 'play', starting the episode. She had a few hours to kill still; might as well watch an episode or two.

All too soon her phone started ringing, signaling that she had to get ready for work. She let out a groan and turned off the TV, reluctantly getting up to go get changed. Within minutes she was headed out the door, partially regretting agreeing to cover for Zaii. But oh well, it was money, and she was helping him out.

She unchained her bike from the rack outside her apartment building, quickly hopping on it and pushing off to get moving. Getting into a rhythm and following her normal route she didn't immediately notice the oppressive feeling weighing down the air. When she heard a faint buzzing that only grew louder, however, she slowed down to look around for the source.

And then she saw it: A patch of blacker than black the size of a manhole cover, in a nearby alley. She didn't know _how_ she saw it, but she couldn't stop looking now that she'd noticed. She hopped off her bike and started to roll it slowly along with her as she approached the large spot. At first the buzzing continued to grow even louder, drowning her senses out. As she got within 5 feet of the inky pitch the sound abruptly stopped.

 

In fact, it felt like _all_ sound had stopped.

  


Sayra couldn't even hear her own breathing or pulse as she inched forward. A prickle of fear started to grow in her chest but she found she couldn't stop walking towards this affront to light. It felt like it was drawing her in; like something was calling to her very _soul_ , enticing her to get closer. And just as she knelt down to reach a hand into the pool of nothing, did a voice ring out deep and clearer than she had ever heard before. It shattered whatever spell had been on her and caused her to recoil harshly with wide eyes and quick breaths.

 

_"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: Yene Lecasa is one of the deities of Jyphaskelo!  
> \--  
> SORRY FOR NOT POSTING FOR LONGER THAN A WEEK THE HOLIDAYS A T E ME
> 
> not that it prolly matters since i dont think anyone even reads this story lmao rip


	7. Awaken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **This isn't right**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: panic and smoking

 

 

 

After Zaii left the coffee shop he headed back to his own apartment. He hadn't expected to see Sayra and- what was their name again? Oh, Arndi. He hadn't expected to see them at the café; hadn't expected them to _call out_ to him with excitement and eagerness. He should have rebuffed their invitation to talk. He can't afford to get close to anyone again, not after-

 

**No.**

Zaii had to stop his mind from going to that dark place. It hurt. _It hurt._ He couldn't let it, not when he had to work that night. The toxic part of his mind, of his memories, would _consume_ him for _hours_ if he wasn't careful. They needed him to be alert for patrols. Distraction could cause another incident, another tragedy- **no. Stop thinking.**

He unlocked his door and roughly opened it, flinching when it hit the wall with a loud sound. _Shit, careful. Don't break things; control your strength._ It was _hard_ , he hated it. He hated that he couldn't even do simple things- stupidly simple things, like swiping his _goddamn keycard_. **Stop.**

Zaii rubbed at his cracked eye socket with his palm, biting back the emotions swirling dangerously in his mind. He headed to his extremely sparse kitchen (he didn't need to cook, after all) and set the bag of coffee beans down next to the grinder. A glance at the clock read 5:26 pm. Four and a half hours until his shift. That was four and a half hours he had to battle his own thoughts and he let out a groan at the realization.

Sitting down on the threadbare couch located right next to the kitchen he turned on a shoddy box tv for the noise. His apartment's furnishings were all old and in fairly poor condition. What did it matter to him? He had a false body that didn't require the comforts a real one did, so he didn't put in the effort. That energy could be used elsewhere.

Grinding the heel of his hands against his eye sockets again he tried to silence his mind. Stop thinking. Shut down for a while. Shut up, shut up, **shut up**. His thoughts needed to stop. Zaii wanted to- no, _needed_ to, rest for a bit. He couldn't sleep in a conventional sense, but if he could get his mind to _shut the hell up_ , he'd be able to 'recharge' until his shift. It was better than the alternative of _fighting himself_.

And finally- _finally_ , his thoughts quieted down, fading into the buzz of background noise around him. Zaii let his hands drop to his lap, sockets closed as he rest. The white noise around him was _so calm_ , and he was glad for the rare peace he felt. And he was able to just _sit_ there, time ticking by wonderfully free of conflict and pain. He didn't mind losing himself to this for hours; it was so rare that he could.

But of course it wasn't to last. That was never an option. He opened his eyes and inhaled a breath, trying to understand what had stirred him. And then it hit, like floodgates had opened. A sheet force of **power** and **magic** , so strong it almost overwhelmed his own. 

He curled forward, gripping his shirt far too tightly to spare the buttons as a strangled sound escaped him. He felt nauseous and his thoughts spun like a vortex- out of control and dizzyingly confusing.

This shouldn't be- _couldn't_ be possible. She couldn't make someone like this; **why** would she make someone of this power?! It was too much. It was **too much**!

Zaii fell from the couch then, catching himself on his hands and knees as his body shook from the massive feeling of magic that wasn't his. His own magic churned and protested, shooting pain and nausea through his form. He couldn't think, could barely see, and his magic _hurt so much_.

And then it was gone, and Zaii could feel his magic buzzing and settling back down. He took ragged, heavy breaths as his joints rattled with effort. Sweat beaded on his skull and slowly trailed down, dripping off and to his worn down beige carpet. He felt like he was hardly there, still recovering from such an onslaught of sensation. His nerves were frazzled and he tried to collect his thoughts desperately.

 

Who-

 

Suddenly his phone started chiming wildly, messages pouring in almost faster than the device could handle. He pushed himself back against the couch, head lulling on the lumpy cushions as he dug through his pocket and pulled out his phone. Flipping it open he waited until the chiming stopped, before slowly going through each message.

 

**Craftsmen:**

[6:23pm] *WHAT?!?! WHAT WAS THAT DID YOU FEEL THAT?!?!

[6:23pm] *OF COURSE YOU DID WHY DID I ASK THAT OMAN JUST WHAT

 

**Artist:**

(To: Astronomer, Book keeper, Caregi…)

[6:23pm] *OMG I'm so sorry for that everyone!! Uh, tbh!! This is a bit too much to explain on the phone so could everyone please make their way here ASAP? Again I'm soooo sorry for that! I hope everyone is ok :( That was a lot stronger than I anticipated

 

**Caregiver:**

[6:23pm] *Zaii are you alright? That was…Overwhelming, and I am worried your unstable magic caused you damage. Please respond soon or I will be calling.

 

**Warrior:**

[6:23pm] *I will be by in 40 minutes to take you to the Artist. Be ready.

 

**Hunter:**

(To: Artist, Astronomer, Book keepe…)

[6:23pm] *Is everyone OK?? That was rly intense whoa im still trembling myself

 

**Chemist:**

(To: Artist, Astronomer, Book keepe…)

[6:24pm] *Ah oh dear! Yes I'm fine, myself.

[6:24pm] *I am admittedly worried for some of the others, however. That was quite a lot of magic

 

**Craftsmen:**

(To: Artist, Astronomer, Book keepe…)

[6:24pm] *We're ok over here!! I mean I almost passed out but Per kept us together and strong! I'm so lucky to have such a cool brother like Per

[6:24pm] *Im just glad Bri didn't fall over as he was in the middle of carrying a soul shard stone for a new Scaredoll. We're fine.

 

**Book keeper:**

(To: Artist, Astronomer, Caregiver…)

[6:24pm] *I'm fine now. I had a brief black out but everything seems to be in order again. Thankfully I was sitting at the time.

 

**Tinkerer:**

(To: Artist, Astronomer, Book keepe…)

[6:24pm] *things are ok here 2 I also passed out 4 a mo but im fine now

 

**Astronomer:**

(To: Artist, Book keeper, Caregi…)

[6:24pm] *HOLY SHIT WHAT THE UNHOLY HELL WAS THAT I TOTALLY BLACKED OUT FROM IT?!?! THAT WAS REALLY UNFUN ARTIST NOT COOL

 

**Artist:**

(To: Astronomer, Book keeper, Caregi…)

[6:25pm] *Im really sorry!!!! Gosh if anyone was injured because of that I'll feel JUST TERRIBLE…PLEASE GET HERE ASAP OK?? I really need to see that everyone is ok!!!!!

 

By that point Zaii couldn't focus anymore on the stream of messages. He let his hand fall to his lap, other hand coming up to rub at his head. His whole body throbbed as his magic misfired and he forced himself to dig through his pocket until he pulled out his cigarettes. Quickly tapping one out he pinched it in his teeth and dug out his lighter. It took a few tries to coordinate himself enough to spark a flame, but soon he was taking a deep drag of the medicated smoke.

Just as his magic was starting to settle back down did his phone start ringing. He groaned and reluctantly hit answer, bringing it to his head. As he feared, the Caregiver's voice rang out on the other end. 

"Zaii." She started, sounded all too motherly and scolding. "You did not reply. I was worried." She continued before giving pause to let him respond.

"'M sorry. Needed a cig first." He replied quietly, his voice crackling like static as his magic was still a bit haywire from being overwhelmed so harshly. He heard her sigh on the other end.

"Well, so long as that's all. I'll know if you're not being entirely truthful soon, anyway. Yuannos is coming to pick you up since she's the closest to your location." 

"I read. I'll be ready." He replied, rubbing his head again before taking another deep drag of his cigarette. He suddenly started and let out a puff of frantic smoke, remembering that he had a shift tonight. _Shit._ "I gotta let y'go. Need t'contact work. Had a shift t'night." _Shit, shit, **shit.**_ He desperately hoped he could get someone to cover him, as he didn't want to lose his job so soon.

Ending the call before Aubanna could protest he scrolled through his contacts to find the number for work as he tried to think of someone who could cover his shift. He hit call and tapped his free hand against his leg impatiently as he waited for someone to pick up. Finally the line clicked and he heard one of the managers on the other end.

"What do you need, Zaii?" They asked, not sounding angry but he flinched anyway. He'd only just gotten this job and he was already calling off. Stars this was going to look bad.. 

"Sorry, uh.. I need t'swap m'shift t'night. Emergency came up. Got 'nyone who I could ask?" He asked, wishing his voice wasn't crackling so bad still. Hearing a heavy sigh on the other side he winced again.

"Sayra's the only one off who hadn't requested for it, so I guess you can try her." They sounded worn out, and Zaii felt a pang of guilt in his chest. They told him her number, which he quickly repeated in his head like a mantra. "If she won't cover however I'd better see you in tonight." They added warningly, to which Zaii mumbled an 'ok', hanging up soon after.

He typed in Sayra's number and quickly tapped out a text to send her, not feeling up to trying to talk again. He hit send, setting his hand down in his lap again before jolting upon realizing how _rude_ his text had been. With surprising speed he typed out and sent two more, hoping she wasn't going to refuse to help because of the admittedly demanding tone of his first message. However when her replies chimed back, Zaii found himself relaxing.

_Stars above_ did he owe her for this. He doubted she knew _just_ how relieved he was that she'd agreed to cover for him. Pushing himself to his feet with a bit more effort than normal, Zaii finished off his cigarette quickly, snubbing it out in a nearby ashtray as he went to change from his ruined shirt and gather what he needed for the impromptu trip to the Artist's place.

 

_Adiatiae had better have a damn good explanation for all this…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /lays down
> 
> /dies slightly
> 
> qwq
> 
> (also if the formatting is screwed up i apologize ao3 is acting weird????)


	8. Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to meet the Artist, but first Zaii has to travel to her home. Joy.

After swapping his ruined shirt with an intact one, Zaii went about his small apartment and gathered up what he would need for his trip. Mostly this consisted of his drawstring bag and it's contents, but he also gathered up a spare outfit just in case it was needed.

While waiting for Yuannos he grabbed the last of the beans from an older bag of coffee, grinding them up and popping them in the coffee maker to brew up a new batch. He took his thermos from his bag, quickly chugging the remains down without a second thought.

 Not as good when it wasn't fresh, but _infinitely_ better than that, eugh, _sparkle bomb_ garbage he'd been forced to drink last night. Stale or not, the coffee definitely helped take the edge off of the magical craziness he'd just gone through.

Rinsing out the thermos he waited for the fresh pot to brew. It took only minutes and soon he was pouring the piping hot liquid in and screwing the lid back on. Now he just had to pass the time until the Warrior showed up to haul him off to the Artist. He turned off his TV, lest he forget, and simply sat down on his couch again as the minutes ticked by.

_Finally_ there was a sharp rap on his door and Zaii stood , strolling over and opening it after making sure to grab his bag. There stood another skeleton-like person.

She stood about 5'9", dressed in a sharp looking steel gray suit that was tailored to fit her wide hips and unnaturally narrow waist perfectly. Her shirt was a simple white, and her tie a deep blue. These colors complimented her powder blue bones and long seemingly-sparkling translucent blue hair that she had parted to the left and swept up into a ponytail. She allowed some of her hair to frame her face, however, where it flowed with soft waves and slight curls.

Her mouth was more traditionally skeletal in comparison to Zaii, but with how it was turned down into a generally displeased frown it still didn't obey normal skeleton logic. She didn't look anymore friendly with the pronounced canines that stood out from the rest of her 'grin', either.

Sharp golden pricks of light shone in her half lidded sockets, flicking down to her shorter companion as she crossed her arms. If he hadn't known her, it would've been easy to assume she didn't want to be there. Well, she didn't, but the point still stood in his mind.

"Sup." Zaii drawled with a lazy wave, stepping out of his apartment and past Yuannos. She stepped to the side to allow him passage, watching without a word as he locked his door behind him. Finally she let out a hard breath, almost rolling her eyes.

"You're actually ready on time for once. Surprising." She replied curtly, having a voice that held a lot of authority in it.

"Didn' have much t'do t'get ready." He shrugged in return, hiking his bag a bit further up his shoulder.  "Le's go. Waitin on y'now." He added, glancing at her. Her frown worsened but she didn't make any retort, instead following him silently.

Heading down the stairs and outside of the building Zaii and Yuannos approached a motorcycle parked on the curb. Zaii hung back long enough for Yuannos to get on it, hopping on behind her with practiced ease. He wrapped his arms around her waist without hesitation, and she showed no signs of caring about the action. Instead she started the motor and kicked off, propelling them down the road with a roar of the bike's engine. 

While the drive through the city didn't take long, Zaii found himself zoning out. It wasn't too surprising, given his last few days. With yesterday's episode, and today's events, he really just needed to shut off for a few hours. Unfortunately that wasn't a possibility yet; he would just have to solider through his mental exhaustion.

To keep his mind alert he decided to focus on the passing scenery. The city of Xovud wasn't the largest on Jyphaskelo, but it was still sizeable. It held classic city fare- Tall skyscrapers and multi-floored apartment buildings, plenty of shops clustered in the downtown area, and a large expanse of suburbs on the edges of the city. Life was bustling around the roads in the form of traffic and pedestrians. They didn’t always stick to the ground, however, as there were numerous flying species and personal-sized vehicles like skateboards infused with hover-stones buzzing in the air above him.

Zaii normally wasn’t one to enjoy crowded areas, but this city had drawn him in for some unfathomable reason. There was just some sort of charm present here that wasn’t in the other cities of Jyphaskelo. That was part of the reason he had been so nervous about calling off earlier; He didn’t want to lose his place in Xovud's expansive community. 

He refocused his attention forward when he felt the bike slow, Yuannos pulling it into what looked like an underground parking-garage entryway. They coasted down the smooth slope, the air chilling in the way it does when one goes underground. The ground soon leveled out, revealing a few toll gates lined up. There were various vehicles and foot traffic at the different gates, species of all sizes waiting patiently to purchase their tickets for travel. Yuannos herself pulled the motorcycle up to the line for those traveling in small vehicles.

It took only a few minutes before they were at the ticket booth, a tired looking employee sitting behind it. They pulled up a transport form on their screen, not really looking up at the two skeleton puppets. "Destination and number of travelers?" They asked dully, finally sparing the pair a glance. Eyes widening they jumped slightly, but settled back down just as fast, trying to cover up their unprofessional slip up nervously.

Neither Zaii nor Yuannos reacted to the employee's lapse in conduct as they were used to that sort of thing happening. "Sivewci, two passengers." Yuannos supplied, reaching into her pocket for her wallet as Zaii did the same.

"Three jumps, then? That will be Z9 per passenger, plus Z4 vehicle fare, so Z13 total." The employee states, typing in the info as the two skelepuppets fished out the needed Zios. Zaii didn't have any single chips, so he was forced to use a ten chip, receiving a Z1 chip in change that he quickly pocketed.     

With tickets purchased Yuannos pulled the bike forward and to the line for the glassy looking gate for 'Perit', the first of their jumps. It took only a few minutes before they were driving through the thin veil of magic. Instead of hitting the wall behind it, it seemed like they had simply gotten turned around as they drove back out. However, they were at a different instaport station, which was confirmed by the voice that chimed 'Welcome to Perit. Please proceed to exit, or next jump. Have a nice day!'

After flashing their tickets to the booth for their next destination, they drove to that gate and went through. A chime of 'Welcome to Jyphaskelo Capitol…' drones as they headed for their last jump, quickly making it through the process once more to get to their final destination: Sivewci.

Thankfully it only took another few minutes for them to get through the exit line, soon heading back above ground. The air warmed considerably, and the smell of salt water was faintly in the air. Around them were light colored buildings, all fairly short for a city. They were made of intricate stone brickwork and dotted with lush plants, packed close together to create narrow alleys that were framed by beautiful arches.

Even the hilly and curved roads were made of sturdy brick, giving the city a very ancient feel, despite the well kept condition of everything. It was like the past and present melded seamlessly into one place, and one look showed why this was a popular tourist destination. It was in short, beautiful. 

But neither Zaii nor Yuannos paid attention to the beauty of the city as they sped through the streets to get to Adiatiae's home. And finally, after a few more minutes of driving, they arrived. From the outside her home looked like all the other buildings in Sivewci, light stone and dotted with creeping vines. 

The bike was parked and the two skeleton puppets hopped off it, heading to the rich colored wooden door nestled into the building. A sharp rap on it by Yuannos caused someone on the other side to open it quickly with a groan of heavy hinges. Even from the doorway it was obvious the interior was vastly different from the outside; It was full of a bright rainbow of colors, all clashing yet harmonizing together in a mishmash that somehow worked. 

Standing in the doorway with a flustered expression was yet another skeleton person, presumably the owner of the house; Adiatiae the Artist. She stood about an inch taller than Yuannos, with a blonde wig that was cut into a short cute bob that framed her cheeks and parted to the left. Four eye sockets adorned her face, the bottom pair half lidded and the top pair wide and alert. The rings that made up her eyes were each a different color. Moving clockwise from top to bottom the colors were orchid purple, yellow, soft green, and denim blue.

She wore a very loose cream colored tunic, two black stripes edging the cuffs and the open and draped shoulders that showed off most of her upper arms. A V of a black stripe dipped down from the high neckline, two dots vertically below it. Around her neck was a dark bandanna spattered with the same colors as her eyes. The tunic was cinched up high on her narrow waist by a loose and long flowing black skirt. 

Like Zaii her jaw and cheeks were fused smoothly, though her teeth were straight and seemed to be a single row instead of a top and bottom set. She gestured with four arms, the palms of her hands the same ivory as the rest of her bones, and the fingers the same color of her skirt, excluding the finger tips which were each the color of one of her eyes. The tip of her thumbs however, was ivory.

"Oh! Zaii! Yuannos! Good, you made it. Come in, come in! You should be the last to arrive." She spoke quickly in an airy sort of voice that really fit her whole 'artistic' vibe. As she stepped back to let them pass, she continued speaking. "Sadly not many of us could come, but I kinda expected it since it was such short notice on my part! Gosh I still can't believe the _impact_ that had…" 

"And I am very interested to know _just_ what it was that caused it. After you kept me out for a _month_ without warning." Yuannos spoke sharply and Adiatiae adverted her gaze to the ceiling for a moment, grinning sheepishly as she stuttered.

"Well- J-just follow me and I'll explain it shortly!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lays down and wheezes quietly
> 
> fek writer's block 
> 
> im so sorry this took so long
> 
> descriptions will be the death of me btw hhhh
> 
> Adiatiae - https://www.dropbox.com/s/774nxsyhh9fxf7z/adiatiae_ref.png?dl=0  
> Yuannos (though not in the same outfit as described) - https://www.dropbox.com/s/wi7sv4vhz1f1n40/Yuannos_ref.png?dl=0


	9. Some Much Needed Info

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Finally_ they learn about what's going on. Or well, at least some of it, anyway..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> talk to me on [Tumblr](kakusart.tumblr.com)! /o/

Adiatiae led the two into a spacious living room that looked fairly unused, aside from the art supplies strewn rather carelessly across the short coffee table. Besides the three of them who just walked into the room there were six other skeleton puppets sitting around.

They all looked over to Adiatiae once she walked in, and it was obvious everyone was impatient for information. She clapped one set of hands together, taking in a deep breath. "Well! I think this is everyone who's going to be attending, so I'll get started on my explanation!

"So about a month ago, I started working on a new member for the crew. I uh, well I didn't actually have a title in mind when I started. Which yes, I'm aware that's strange. However, something…Something was compelling me to work on it anyway.

"Soon I found myself unable to do anything besides work on it, and keep myself fed of course. This ah, resulted in me locking myself in my workshop? To be honest some of the details are a bit fuzzy for me…All I know is that his core- The Timekeeper's core, that is. It's not like ours. It's….Stronger. A lot, in fact. Which duh, that's obvious! But, I have this vague recollection of the word 'deity' and I feel that it pertains to his core.

"I think…I think a Granter had me make them a deity vessel, in the form of one of us. I don't know why, however, or what his job as a deity even is. I just know that he is powerful, and he's already headed off on his mission." She finished with a sigh.

Wringing her hands together she looked to each of the puppets sitting around her. There was a moment of silence, as everyone digested the information she'd given them. Finally the stillness was broken by a puppet who honestly resembled Zaii quite a bit, though his bones were a cool gray. The oval disks of light that made up his eyes were a dark teal with light teal stars, and the bottom of his sockets were lined with raspberry pink.

"So ya sayin that ya don't know what this dude's deal is and he just left right after wakin? Wow that sounds _fantastic_ and not at all worrying." He snarked in a mid-high masculine voice, mouth twisting into a scowl. "Especially cause he's apparently a _deity_. **Fantastic**. Ugh." He rolled his eyes, earning a few dirty looks from some of the others who didn't appreciate his attitude.

"Look, I'll admit this is a bit worrying, Zandary..But! The Granters wouldn't do something like this without a very good reason. You _know_ how rare it is for them to get involved in the world so directly." Adiatiae sighed, holding her elbows lightly.

"What kinda core does he got?" One of the other puppets, one that looked like a bipedal canine skeleton, suddenly asked. His bones were sandy in color, and his skull was topped with moderately large furless denim blue ears, the insides a soft slate. His mouth was more like Zaii's however, though with a single row of flat looking teeth, and the sides that stretched up his muzzle were hidden by the faux bone of his skull.

"He has a..A sloth core, admittedly..However Hunton you know as well as I that, that doesn't mean he's a bad person." Adiatiae replied. Her tone was a bit short and she adverted her gaze sheepishly after she finished speaking, mumbling a quiet 'sorry..' He brushed it off with a lazy wave of a clawed hand.

"Yea' I know, I know. Gluttony core, yet I don't consume everythin' in sight. 'N Aubanna has a Kindness core but that don't make her a pushover or nothin. I get it." Hunton replied casually, a slight smirk to his tone as he crossed his arms as one of the other puppets- presumably Aubanna- rolled her eyes. "Let's jus' hope he doesn't let his laziness get in the way of…whatever he's gotta do for the Granters." The others nodded in agreement.

Yuannos broke the brief silence again, asking the next question everyone had been wondering. "And what of his elements? You called him the Timekeeper. I'm assuming his magics are in relation to that title?" She frowned again, as time magic was dangerous _and strong_.

"Ah, as far as I could tell…Psi, Shadow, and Light are what he has, to use time magic." Adiatiae replied nervously as everyone stared at her with a mixture of blank expressions and mildly horrified ones. While Psi wasn't uncommon for the puppets, they all knew how unstable it was as an element- Especially when combined with Shadow.  It was nerve-wracking to wait and see if the magic would overwhelm a new puppet, or if they would adjust to it and be fine.

"I feel like he'll be just dandy though! He has a much stronger soul than we do, after all.." She added, fiddling with her hands slightly and giving away her anxiety in the process. If he fell victim to his magic, the results would be _catastrophic_ ; worse than normal given the power he apparently held. No one wanted that to happen.

"Any other questions, concerns, or…?" She trailed off, looking at each puppet in the room. No one indicated they had anything more to say, so Adiatiae clapped her hands together once and smiled brightly. "Well then! I suppose that's all I wanted to say! You're free to stay the night if you wish, or you can head out when you're ready." She spoke cheerfully, clasping all four of her hands together in front of her.

Most of the puppets immediately got ready to head out, but Yuannos and Zaii remained where they were. One other puppet also remained where they were on the couch, hands clasped calmly on their lap. Zaii sighed upon realizing they weren't leaving, walking over to them almost reluctantly.

"Hey, Aubanna." He mumbled, sitting next to her as she turned in her seat to face him. If she were standing she would likely stand about two inches taller than him, at 5'6". She had a similar skull shape to him, her nasal cavity an upside down heart and her mouth simply a soft smile. The lights in her eyes were also rounded isosceles triangles, pointing downwards and golden in color. And just as Zaii looked sleepy, so did she.

Like Yuannos, she had semi-transparent and sparkling hair, pulled into a ponytail as well, and tied off with a tie that stood up like two tiny black and gold bunny ears. Hers was pink in color, however, and framed high up on her face similarly to Adiatiae's. She was dressed in an open dark purple vest over a light purple sleeveless shirt, a ribbed wine purple muffler, decorated with a gold star and salmon bow, around her neck.

She wore a medium length ruffled skirt, the same color as her muffler, and topped with a salmon ribbon and two more gold stars set off to the side. Shoes weren't something she cared about, though she did have a pair of black fingerless gloves, the cuffs of which were gold.

"Zaii." She replied calmly, clasping her hands on her lap again as she looked at him. "You appear to have been truthful on the phone." She added softly, earning a huff from Zaii.

"Don't have a reas'n't lie t'ya." He grumbled half heartedly, staring intently at his thumbs as he brushed them back and fourth against each other. "I know y'just lookin out for us. 'S in your nature t'care." He shrugged, still not looking at her.

"I'm glad you're getting better at being truthful about your condition, though. When you hung up abruptly I was, admittedly, mildly concerned.." She sighed, looking at the ceiling as she leaned back against the couch. "It was also surprising to hear you so worried about a job, of all things. Normally you're much more lax; You must not wish to leave Xovud. Or, is it perhaps, you don't want to leave Sayra?" Aubanna tilt her head slightly as she looked back to him. "She sounds very nice. I was impressed a coworker of yours cared enough to try and actually help you and went so far as to contact someone you knew, instead of calling authorities in hopes they could do something. Most wouldn't have taken into consideration your inanimate body and the fact emergency services would be useless." Zaii had no response, just staring blankly at Aubanna with tiny eye lights, his jaw slightly slack.

He-…He hadn't even thought of that. Regaining his composure he allowed his face to shift back to its default expression, turning forward again as his mind raced. _Why_ did Sayra care that much? She had spoken to him three times; he had _barely_ spoken back. Most were put off by his skeletal appearance and made a point to minimize contact with him. Even the others at work had mostly been like that, although they had been at least polite to him. So what made her different? 

He clenched his hands on his lap, suddenly irritated at this new realization. She had **no** idea how bad it was to try and get close to him. He could only _hurt_ others. Could only- **Stop. Not again.** Taking a few slow breaths he calmed himself back down, pushing himself to his feet.

"Well, was nice t'see ya again Aubanna." He said abruptly, though the other puppet didn't seem phased by his curt tone. "But I gotta head out. Got work t'mrrow." He stiffly walked away without a glance back, heading over to Yuannos, who was quietly conversing with Adiatiae. Aubanna watched him, a sad smile to her face as she knew the reason for his harsh attitude.

He was scared of failing again. But, she wished he would at least _try_ to succeed. He clung bitterly to his failures, refusing to move past them; to heal from them. And it pained her to see him still suffering all these years later. Yes, he was scared, but Aubanna was determined to help him.

 

Somehow, some way, she would help him to finally heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Refs: 
> 
> Zandary - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ikp0pqgmxs10ggw/zandary_ref.png?dl=0  
> Hunton - https://www.dropbox.com/s/p83ddkpdy7gfyb6/Hunton_ref.png?dl=0  
> Aubanna - https://www.dropbox.com/s/lnhdljhuadmciho/Aubanna_ref.png?dl=0
> 
> there's a few other puppets but since i didnt describe them in the chapter i dont feel like linking to their refs lmao; mayhaps another time ouo)/

**Author's Note:**

> have some character refs because why not:
> 
> https://gyazo.com/8556a662c313944f86a0d4ff56b7dff8 - Zaii  
> https://gyazo.com/a9277768f529c9e1f90c86549f9b22d8 - Sayra  
> https://gyazo.com/a6ae573ec09315493d04d05cf3385325 - Arndi
> 
> also please let me know if anything doesn't make sense in the story!!


End file.
